Diavolo/Personality and Relationships

From JoJo's Bizarre Encyclopedia - JoJo Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
  • DiavoloAv.png
  • Alternate UniverseJorgeDiavoloAv.png

SPOILER WARNING: Part 5 spoiler details may follow.
For the alternate personality of Diavolo, see Vinegar Doppio.
I must crush my fear! Now is the time... I must overcome it right now! That is what it means to live!

Diavolo (ディアボロ, Diaboro) is the main antagonist of the fifth part of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series, Vento Aureo, as well as the fourth main antagonist of the series overall.

He is only known to most as the boss of Passione, which corrupts Naples by dealing drugs in the streets, making him both Giorno Giovanna and Bruno Bucciarati's superior and their greatest enemy. He is also Trish Una's father, and orders Team Bucciarati to deliver her to him whilst keeping her safe from the traitorous La Squadra Esecuzioni. Because of his obsession with secrecy, almost no one knows his appearance, name, or background.

Diavolo is a Stand user who wields the incredibly powerful King Crimson in battle. He is later revealed to be the alternate personality of Vinegar Doppio, with whom he is able to share part of his Stand.

Appearance

Diavolo anime.png

Diavolo is a veritably tall man in his 30s with a lean and semi-muscular build. In his first appearance, covered in shadow in all but his glaring eyes, he appears to have short, combed back straight hair and is wearing a suit and tie.

His appearance is drastically altered when fully revealed: Diavolo has long hair, dyed with various spots in a leopard pattern[7] and parted in a zig-zagging manner. His bangs are propped and parted slightly to the side, and the rest of his hair is cut straight across his shoulders. In earlier depictions, varying amounts of Diavolo's hair were cut straight, inconsistently ranging from small locks to the entirety of his hair. His shirt, hidden under Doppio's sweater, appears to be made of complex mesh wiring: it covers his shoulders and torso but down his back and abdomen are linked circles that are tucked under his belt, which in the back end in two or three long "coat tails". On his arms are an elegantly designed paisley floral pattern that begins at the shoulder and leads down the forearm to a pair of wristbands. He also shares a pair of studded pants and seemingly sock-less loafers with Doppio.

His eyes are unique as his irises are "fragmented", forming as spots and shards of whole irides with a triangular-shaped highlight to them. However, while Bucciarati is in control of his body, they become normal with circular highlights.

His appearance differs greatly while operating as his alter-ego, Doppio. As Doppio is a completely separate soul sharing a body with Diavolo, they even have different muscular builds.

Color Schemes

The series is known for alternating colors between media, the information presented below may or may not be canon.
Colored MangaAnimeGioGioAll-Star BattleEyes of Heaven
Skin(Fair, black lipstick)
Hair(Pink with burgundy spots)
Eyes
(Black, or red when Bucciarati controls his body)
Outfit
(Black mesh shirt with purple pants and brown wristbands, shoes, and belt.)
Skin(Fair, purple lipstick)
Hair
(Pink-to-magenta gradient with dark green spots)
Eyes(Lime Green)
Outfit
(Black mesh shirt with purple pants, green wristbands and belt, and blue shoes.)
Skin(Fair, wine red lipstick)
Hair(Pink with black spots)
Eyes(Black)
Outfit
(Black mesh shirt with purple pants, brown wristbands and belt, and khaki shoes.)
Skin(Fair, dark purple lipstick)
Hair(Pink with crimson spots)
Eyes(Black)
Outfit
(Black mesh shirt with indigo pants and shoes, green wristbands, and a gray belt.)
Skin(Fair, dark magenta lipstick)
Hair(Magenta with blood-red spots)
Eyes(Black)
Outfit
(Black mesh shirt with purple pants and shoes, olive green wristbands, and a gray belt.)

Personality

The past... even when you break it to pieces and entomb it in stone, it crawls out like a worm.
—Diavolo, Chapter 570: His Name is Diavolo, Part 2
Subordinates never interact directly with Diavolo, not even capos

The biggest personality trait Diavolo shows is his obsession with erasing any trace of his history and keeping his identity a secret from the world, a compulsion he will fulfill by any means necessary. As he believes the mistakes of the past, or simply the past itself, are something to be defeated and destroyed for human beings to grow, he is exceptionally anxious about his past, linking it to fear, and being apprehensive of anyone learning of him. Even in the already secretive Passione hierarchy, Diavolo goes to excessive lengths to completely hide his identity, issuing orders through several proxies or by computer so that nobody ever meets him personally. Diavolo lives most of his life in the shadows, hinted to perpetually travel across Italy hidden in Doppio, his alternate personality, and sleep in motel and hotel rooms exclusively. This compulsive trait of erasing his past is also an allegory to the inherent imperfection in King Crimson, specifically Epitaph's ability; while he can see into the future to avoid any mistakes, Diavolo's Stand ability cannot erase any low points or 'ebbs' in his life that have already occurred, forcing him to try to fix his errors through his own personal, manual efforts.

Diavolo will violently protect his secrets

Diavolo has a violent tendency to hunt and kill those who try to uncover any kind of his personal information, or are merely susceptible to leading his enemies to him, as shown by his will to kill even his own family if it means keeping his identity safe - something highly vocalized through his attempts to murder his daughter who had never even met Diavolo herself and only knew things her mother passed down. However, this is partially justified since family members within the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure universe share a mystic spiritual link, with Diavolo and Trish being able to sense each other's souls and know where the other is as well as if they are alive.[5][8] Nevertheless, Diavolo is sufficiently pragmatic not to go on a killing spree every time he's about to be discovered, notably only using his power to confuse a hotel cleaning maid just for as long as he needs to erase any trace of his presence.[9] That being said, as soon as he learns of a Passione member trying to investigate him, they will be dubbed as traitors and made examples of his wrath and absolute power. The most notable examples are Sorbet and Gelato, whom Diavolo had killed, and in the case of Sorbet particularly, he was cut into pieces and framed in formalin, then delivered to La Squadra Esecuzioni as a grim warning of the fate awaiting potential traitors. Diavolo is also persistent in keeping himself a secret even from Doppio, his most trusted subordinate and alter-ego.

His pride hurt, Diavolo dashes to confront Giorno with the Arrow

His second most prominent personality trait is his pride and confidence, firstly in his nigh-invincible Stand King Crimson, then in himself. Operating under a philosophy that King Crimson makes him invincible because it allows him to see the "pitfalls" in the future and avoid them, and allows him to manipulate Fate and reality by choosing to nullify arbitrarily chosen events, he justifiably boasts about King Crimson's power regularly. Diavolo notably claims that anyone's actions before King Crimson are vain, which is true to a degree. Secondly, Diavolo is intimately convinced of his innate superiority over humanity. Using epithets such as "Emperor" or "King of Kings", or like other main antagonists in the series, and using the prefix I or Me (この,  kono) to announce his name is a sign of superiority over others. The mob boss doesn't doubt that he is fated to remain at the top, or 'apex' as he describes it, forever.[10] This disproportionate pride is not only derived from his idea that people grow from defeating their past (and therefore, he has grown much due to his constant attempts at erasing any type of history of his) but it is also backed by the firm belief that he was blessed by Fate. Diavolo's past involved extremely unusual circumstances, such as an unnaturally long pregnancy in an all-female prison, making his birth nothing short of a miracle, then him finding six Arrows which would grant him his extraordinarily powerful Stand as well as his massive wealth. As an extension of the idea that he is blessed by Fate, Diavolo considers himself extremely lucky as well. He readily accepts any difficulty as a "test" he'll have to overcome to prove himself as standing above everyone, and though he can be subject to anxiousness or despair, his pride will prevail and he will constantly choose to directly confront whatever problem he has. This causes him to foolishly face Gold Experience Requiem head-on, although he did foresee Giorno Giovanna's death and had no idea of his new powers. Against the newly-evolved Stand, Diavolo's confidence crumbled when it countered his time erasure and prediction abilities and left him powerless. When he found himself trapped in an endless death loop, unable to do anything about his situation, Diavolo panicked and his last appearance in the story has him frightened by an approaching little girl; his pride, confidence, and to varying degrees, sanity being completely crushed by his everlasting fatalities.

Other than his philosophy of defeating the past to mature, Diavolo also lives by another thematic philosophy that results are the only things that matter in the world. As a decisive and assertive crime boss, Diavolo doesn't hesitate to take shortcuts or directly involve himself with troublesome matters if those actions are the quickest and easiest paths to an end. King Crimson's ability is an echo of this, and maybe the source of it, leaving nothing but the outcomes of situations, specifically those he sees fit to keep. He abuses his Stand's power as a means to produce the most favorable conclusions to his problems, and at the same time, boldly prove his philosophy's claim to anyone that he confronts. Diavolo shows a degree of prioritization for these results and answers as well, notably when he, upon meeting with Polnareff whom he thought he killed years ago, only questions him as to why he would have an Arrow before attacking once more, rather than how he learned the name of the boss of Passione, or even how he managed to survive being thrown off a cliff into rocky waters.[11]

Diavolo's punishments are so horrible even gangsters will be intimidated

For Diavolo, keeping stability within Passione is secondary to maintaining power and his status as the boss; a mentality that eventually realizes the corruption of Naples, worsens the city's drug problem, and ultimately, leads to the rousal of Giorno Giovanna into joining the gang seeking to dethrone their boss. Diavolo only commands the obedience of his subordinates through greed or fear, causing the organization to even be corrupted within itself, with members turning against each other, and multiple people plotting against him. Diavolo is also unforgiving of those he considers enemies, most especially traitors. Should anyone try to approach his alter ego Doppio and pry too much on his past, Diavolo violently rebukes them. For instance, he violently murdered a fortune teller who correctly divined his history.[12] He has proven capable of restraint, as he told Doppio to spare a taxi driver after realizing that he hadn't seen the photo of Donatella Una that he was attempting to hide.[13]

Diavolo has also demonstrated an inability to empathize or even understand other people's emotions and morals, especially those righteous, as well as an inability to properly interact with anyone, due in no small part to his overwhelming pride and antisocial secretiveness. When Bucciarati revolts, Diavolo openly theorizes that Bucciarati merely wanted to overthrow him or was opportunistic in his presence, without considering that hurting his daughter deeply angered Bucciarati. When interacting with others, Diavolo tends to act rather respectfully for his opponents and subordinates if they are obedient and competent. He compliments both Risotto and Bucciarati for their resourcefulness during their battles and offers Risotto an honorable death.[14] On a smaller scale, he compliments a fortune teller capable of accurately deriving his past as being "the best of the best" and giving a brutal yet painless death. However, Diavolo is also domineering and aggressive, taking his thoughts for absolute truths and ordering his interlocutor around; When he is angry, he is prone to shout insults and issue death threats.

Diavolo quickly killing Polnareff in one punch

Diavolo approaches fights coldly, only considering confrontations as chores to be completed to maintain his supremacy. Diavolo favors eliminating his victims quickly using his King Crimson to confuse them and kill them in a single move. As seen with Bucciarati, Diavolo is shown slightly amused (or at least his Stand is) by the futile efforts of his opponents and boasts regularly about his perceived invincibility. A pragmatic man, Diavolo still approaches the situation carefully, especially when Doppio is in command, and cannot use his full power. In an unadvantageous situation, Diavolo is patient, carefully undermining the enemy before using one critical attack, making him a most dangerous enemy during any battle, regardless of King Crimson's time erasure.

During his youth, the teenager named Diavolo was described as dim and timid, but well-meaning. He also expressed his wish to become a sailor and even acquired a girlfriend. All the same, his secretiveness and ruthlessness were already present: on top of falsifying his identity to his girlfriend, he took the measure of binding and burying his mother beneath the floor of his room. When the latter was discovered, Diavolo even burnt his home village to the ground simply to conceal his past crimes.[2]

Abilities

Stand

Main article: King Crimson

Diavolo's Stand is King Crimson, an extremely powerful Stand with tremendous physical strength and the ability to erase time up to a 10 seconds time frame as well as predict anything that happens over the following 10 seconds. Although it has some limitations, King Crimson renders him essentially invincible in a fight as he can either foresee and counter the enemy's actions or render them meaningless by erasing the timeframe in which they happen.

King Crimson (キング・クリムゾン)Link to this section
KingCrimsonAv.png
PWR
A
SPD
A
RNG
E
STA
E
PRC
?
DEV
?

Double Personality

Doppio turning into Diavolo

Diavolo and Doppio are two souls that inhabit the same body. As a result, they can switch their personalities as well as their physical appearance.[15] Compared to Diavolo, Doppio appears a lot younger and is described by a fortuneteller as looking too young to have children.[12] Diavolo appears to be a lot taller, as well as more muscular. When he takes over, Doppio's freckles disappear, his voice deepens, and his hair is seemingly a different length. According to Diavolo, it takes a couple of seconds for him to completely take over Doppio's body.[16]

While Doppio is in control, Diavolo has quite a few abilities, including border-lining omniscience. He was able to tell that the taxi driver didn't see the picture of Donatella that Doppio was carrying, despite his subordinate's beliefs, and was later able to see the lurking Risotto.
Diavolo communicating with Doppio
Diavolo also seems to be able to manipulate Doppio's memories, as Diavolo remembers everything and can see everything that happens to Doppio but not vice versa, although it's unknown how much of this is based on Doppio's possible poor memory.

Diavolo can communicate with Doppio through any kind of object while not in control, granting his subordinate the belief that his alter ego is another person altogether. Although these calls aren't audible to anyone else, Doppio can always hear his alter ego's voice through the object, which he assumes is a phone.

Soul Manipulation

Diavolo is for unknown reasons, exceptionally knowledgeable about souls and their mechanisms, and is also equally skilled at manipulating his own soul.

Diavolo shows uncommon knowledge about souls, for instance being able to tell the near dying Bucciarati's state and then correctly guess that he can only see souls. Knowing that the souls of family members have the same "scent", Diavolo is able to grant a shard of his soul to Doppio to disguise himself as Trish's soul. Moreover, under Chariot Requiem's influence, Diavolo has been able to control in which body he could go, although he otherwise couldn't freely control it. Although Diavolo could exert subtle control of his own soul, he remains subject to the powers of soul-manipulating Stands such as Chariot Requiem.

Throughout the entirety of the battle against Chariot Requiem, Diavolo's soul takes the form of King Crimson, and speaks and emotes completely through it.

Spiritual Connection

As Trish Una's father, Diavolo has a spiritual connection to her. By instinct, he can sense that she is indeed his daughter and was able to feel that she was alive despite being informed that the plane she was on had crashed.

Intelligence

Diavolo's status as the Boss in the Passione hierarchy

Diavolo is a gifted tactician and is generally more intelligent than average. As proof of Diavolo's abilities, the Boss has built a powerful gang with influence spreading across Italy in a matter of years. To avoid his enemies spying on him, Diavolo has proved to be imaginative in delivering his orders, using proxies, computers, dead drops, or even exploiting his subordinates' Stand abilities so only they could access the messages.

During a fight, Diavolo usually relies on his King Crimson's power and favors straightforward tactics like erasing time and positioning himself for a fatal strike. However, Diavolo has also shown to be rather observant, taking note of any event and keeping tabs on his enemies' abilities. He notably predicted that Giorno Giovanna's wit would become a real nuisance to his plans and trod carefully with him. Diavolo also kept observing the apparently defeated Team Bucciarati from afar and managed to correctly analyze their state of mind and subsequently roughly guess their goals. Finally, Diavolo was the first and only one person to be observant enough to see the mechanisms of Chariot Requiem and guess its weak points, enabling him to disable the Stand effortlessly.

Diavolo has shown to be able of thinking on his feet, not panicking when he was chased by Bruno Bucciarati and Narancia Ghirga in a body deprived of hemoglobin and quickly using the surrounding fauna to replenish his blood. He also subsequently exploited this opportunity to assassinate Leone Abbacchio. Likewise in Rome, an accidental meeting with Bruno was exploited by him to approach Polnareff and assassinate him. Diavolo's arguably most effective tactic was during his confrontation against Risotto Nero, during which he exploited both the presence of Team Bucciarati, Risotto's own scalpels, and his own weakened state to manipulate Aerosmith into shooting only Risotto and turn the tables against the assassin.

Personal

Though never demonstrated, Diavolo can fluently speak Sardinian.[17]

Relationships

Alter Ego

  • Diavolo to Doppio: Although in most cases it's self-preservation and survival (assuming killing Doppio would kill Diavolo, or vice versa), Diavolo seems to have a lot of affection for Doppio: he put Doppio in a very dangerous position of being the underboss instead of a usual subordinate, he often gave Doppio directions to being successful and even warned him to keep away from Nero and encouraged him to flee, and most peculiar of all, he has a habit of sometimes calling Doppio "[his] (cute) Doppio" with a more down-to-earth "watashi" (わたし) pronoun.  Noticeably, when Chariot Requiem activates and Doppio is shot multiple times by Mista, Diavolo almost immediately destroys and impales Narancia on a gate, instantly killing him, and begins to attempt more murders - before it happened, Diavolo was perfectly hidden away and everyone assumed Diavolo was in Bucciarati's body. On the other hand, Diavolo doesn't spend a single thought for Doppio whom he left for dead in Bucciarati's body.
  • Doppio to Diavolo: While Doppio never learned the truth between themselves, he highly respects Diavolo and always called him "Boss" - though, whether or not Doppio knew Diavolo's name is unknown. Doppio also seems to be Diavolo's gofer, something he takes pride in considering how loyal he was to a point of stubbornness, and he seemed heed most of Diavolo's orders when he remembered them. According to Doppio himself before his death, Diavolo had told him that staying in Bucciarati's body would be dangerous and decided to move, leaving Doppio to his fate.

Family

  • Donatella Una: Although the specifics of their relationship are unknown, outside of Diavolo never talking about himself and going by the false name of "Solid Naso," it can be inferred that it was largely positive on both sides. Diavolo took a picture of Donatella once, which she kept throughout the years (although he becomes enraged upon learning that it still exists). Interestingly enough, Diavolo never attempted to have Donatella executed despite his ruthlessness. Likewise, Donatella loved Diavolo and told her daughter good things about him (though she only knew the lies he told her), and it's known that as Donatella died from her illness, she wished to see her lover again.
  • Trish Una: Diavolo remains unaware of Trish's existence until Donatella passes away and Squadra Esecuzioni begins searching for clues to their former employer's identity. Diavolo realizes that their bond of blood allows him to sense her presence (the bonds of family being a reoccurring supernatural force in the world of JoJo). Immediately realizing that she could sense him as well and jeopardize his anonymity, he set in motion a plan to kill her with his own hands and used Bucciarati's group as pawns to bring her to him without letting the traitors capture her. When she stops him from obtaining the Arrow during the final battle, he responds by cursing her existence and having King Crimson punch clean through her stomach in a final unsuccessful attempt to kill her. Afterward, Diavolo would mockingly thank Trish for giving him the courage to attack Giorno Giovanna, as she revealed to her allies that Diavolo was attempting to run away, tempering his pride.
  • Mother: Diavolo's mother was incarcerated at the time of his birth, and remained so for the first eight years of his childhood. At some point, Diavolo met his mother and, for unknown reasons, sewed her mouth shut before binding and burying her beneath the floor of his room.
  • Foster father: As a child born in prison, Diavolo was adopted by a priest in a Sardinian village, and grew up under his care. The priest was supportive of Diavolo's decision to become a sailor, and even decided to build a garage for him after seeing him and a woman on a date. However, this would also cause his death, as when he was digging into the concrete, he uncovered Diavolo's mother. That same night, the Sardinian village was burned to the ground, with the priest among the casualties.

Enemies

You are the very definition of nauseating evil! You abuse the innocent and unknowing! All for your own personal benefit!
Bucciarati angrily describing Diavolo, Chapter 517: Bruno Bucciarati's Childhood

Team Bucciarati

  • Giorno Giovanna: Giorno planned to take down Diavolo since the beginning due to Passione's corruption of Naples, which included an agenda of drug trafficking affecting even children. Because of this, Diavolo retaliated and made Giorno a high-priority target. The two became bitter enemies over the course of Part 5, with Diavolo having invoked Giorno's anger during their confrontation after the death of Narancia, and Giorno helping to rouse Team Bucciarati's betrayal. During the race for the Arrow, Giorno alone figured out that Diavolo was residing in one of the group's bodies, causing the Boss to realize that Giorno was his greatest threat. With Bucciarati's demise, Diavolo confirms that Giorno was in fact the more dangerous individual due to his cunning, as well as the fact that he had planned to usurp him the moment the boy entered Passione.
  • Bruno Bucciarati: Prior to meeting Giorno, Bucciarati was loyal to Diavolo, even though he was aware of the gang's involvement in the drug trafficking within Naples. Although Bucciarati initially had no power to take action, with urging from Giorno, he became determined to take the boss down as well. While this eventually led to Diavolo's killing him, Diavolo had declared his respect for Bucciarati, complimenting him on his prowess and valor.
  • Narancia Ghirga: Although not directly interacting with Narancia, he was a threat nonetheless once he turned traitor. After Chariot Requiem was activated and Doppio was shot by Mista, Diavolo retaliates by killing Narancia, whom had a radar capable of finding anyone attempting to attack Chariot Requiem.
  • Leone Abbacchio: Diavolo feared Abbacchio as he could easily find out whom Passione's Boss was with his powers. As such, Diavolo personally went back to Sardinia to intercept Abbacchio, and when given the opportunity, assassinated him while posing not only as Doppio, but also as a simple child playing soccer.
  • Guido Mista: While Diavolo lacks a connection with Mista, Mista on the other hand shares his teammates' hatred and fear of the boss. Diavolo likewise regarded him as a threat just for betrayal. In the end, after the final battle with Diavolo, Mista was the last original member of Bucciarati's team before Giorno intact.
  • Pannacotta Fugo: Fugo, even with all the evidence given to him, was torn between swearing loyalty to Bucciarati or staying on Diavolo's good side. Understanding the extreme danger of betraying Passione and Diavolo, Fugo ultimately chose to remain on Diavolo's side. In a rejected storyline, Fugo was also sent to kill his former friends, and if that was kept, Araki admits that Giorno would have needed to give the killing blow, which he felt would be too heartbreaking.

Other

  • Jean Pierre Polnareff: Polnareff is one of Diavolo's many enemies, though Diavolo did not have any interest in Polnareff particularly. As soon as Diavolo found out Polnareff had been investigating him, he made a personal and brutal attempt to dispose of him, but unknowingly left him alive. During their second confrontation, Diavolo did not care much that Polnareff was still alive, nor that he knew his name, but rather wanted to know immediately why Polnareff would possess an Arrow, displaying a sense of urgency on the matter of his familiar foe. Nonetheless, Diavolo would, without much effort, successfully put an end to Polnareff once more, stepping on his neck in order to check his pulse and confirm his death. However, Diavolo did not know that Chariot Requiem would save its former master by preserving his soul in the body of the turtle Coco Jumbo.
  • La Squadra Esecuzioni: Diavolo distrusted La Squadra, refusing to give them territory and higher pay despite their work. When two of their members began searching for his identity, Diavolo had them killed, one of whom was sectioned into 36 individual pieces, which were then mailed individually back to the group. After two years of silence, La Squadra discovered Diavolo's relation to his daughter Trish and defected from Passione, planning to use her for them to find and kill their former boss. Diavolo disdained these assassins, but came to respect their leader, Risotto Nero to a degree, considering him a worthy opponent and granting him the dubious "honor" of a painless death if he obeyed his command of restoring his iron level during their fight.
  • Cioccolata and Secco: As immoral as Diavolo was, he considered both of them monstrous and only kept them in his organization due to their powerful combination and individual abilities alike. As such, he only used them as a last resort to eliminate the remaining members of Team Bucciarati. On their part, Cioccolata and Secco only obeyed Diavolo because he let them torture people and planned to overthrow him eventually. Once Diavolo reached the Colosseum to confront Polnareff, he saw no use for them and left them to die at the hands of Team Bucciarati.

Chapters / Episodes

Book Icon.png Manga Appearances
Chapters in order of appearance
TV Icon.png Anime Appearances
Episodes in order of appearance
Book Icon.png Novel Appearances
Chapters in order of appearance
MiscPHFJORGEOVER HEAVEN
  • OVER HEAVEN Chapter 63 (Mentioned only)

Quotes

Quote.png Quotes
Show AllEnglishJapaneseRomaji
  • Leave this place, Bruno Bucciarati... if you come out from behind that pillar... you will die.
    —Diavolo, Chapter 518: The Mystery of King Crimson, Part 1
  • This is the end of the line. So, why shouldn't I tell you..? What you have witnessed and laid hands upon was your own future self! The "you" of a few seconds past saw your future self. That is the ability of my King Crimson! I eradicated time and forced it to skip!
    —Diavolo introducing King Crimson, Chapter 519: The Mystery of King Crimson, Part 2
  • I shall not allow anyone, no matter who they may be, to threaten my everlasting climax. I will eradicate every last one of them.
    —Diavolo, Chapter 519: The Mystery of King Crimson, Part 2
  • I can forecast the trails left by your movements... the trails of your future actions. Within King Crimson's ability, time is erased from the world and none can remember the footprints they left during this time! The clouds in the sky do not realize they have been scattered by the winds! An extinguished flame is not aware of the moment it has been snuffed! It is only the results! Only the results that remain in this world! All the actions you take in a world where time is erased are meaningless! And I alone can react to these actions! I can see exactly how you will act! That is the ability of my King Crimson!
    —Diavolo explaining King Crimson, Chapter 520: The Mystery of King Crimson, Part 3
  • Even if you try to erase it, the past will always come back to lock true peace away from you.
    —Diavolo, Chapter 540: Spice Girl, Part 2
  • If anyone knows even the slightest fragment of my true nature!... They must not be allowed to live.
    —Diavolo, Chapter 541: Storm Warning in Sardinia Island!
  • Do you understand, Doppio!? I must crush my fear! Now is the time... I must overcome it right now! That is what it means to live!
    —Diavolo, Chapter 552: Pronto! On the Phone, Part 2
  • This is a trial... The trial of defeating my past... I accept it. In order to grow, we must defeat the mistakes of our past.
    —Diavolo, Chapter 570: His Name is Diavolo, Part 2
  • The past... even when you break it to pieces and entomb it in stone, it crawls out like a worm.
    —Diavolo, Chapter 570: His Name is Diavolo, Part 2
  • Your grunts with your filthy abilities and your trifling intellects will never be able to surpass King Crimson's forecasts... nor will you be able to circumvent them!
    —Diavolo, Chapter 583: Diavolo Surfaces, Part 4
  • I never predicted that anyone would be foolish enough to betray my gang, and I never imagined that anyone would discover my identity, ever. But, thanks to you, I have learned of this Arrow's true ability! This is a gift! A tribute that fate has given me for overcoming my past!
    —Diavolo, Chapter 583: Diavolo Surfaces, Part 4
  • You have genuinely angered me! (おまえはッ わたしを本気で怒らせたッ!!)
  • You're all slimy mucus vomited into a toilet bowl! How dare you do this to me! (この便器に吐き出されたタンカスどもが!!このわたしに対して⋯⋯⋯!!)
    —Diavolo, Chapter 584: Diavolo Surfaces, Part 5
  • Who once said that "we all are soldiers chosen by fate"? But.... the world has shown me one truth.... Fate granted me the ability to erase time and precognize. There is no mistaking it... that is an obvious truth... The fate that governs this world selected my King Crimson to stand upon the invincible apex. I am no soldier.
    —Diavolo, Chapter 585: King of Kings
  • I am the Emperor. What I see is to remain upon the climax.
    —Diavolo, Chapter 585: King of Kings
  • I, Diavolo, am the Emperor! This fact remains unchanged!
    —Diavolo, Chapter 585: King of Kings
  • Giorno Giovanna! I will not even allow you the time to lament your death!
    —Diavolo, Chapter 586: Gold Experience Requiem, Part 1
  • My ability stands upon the apex of reality!
    —Diavolo, Chapter 586: Gold Experience Requiem, Part 1
  • You... little brat! (くぉのッ⋯ ガキイガァァァ!)
  • H... how many more times will I die!? Where will it come from next...? Wh...when will it strike next!? I... I...!
    —Diavolo, broken by Gold Experience Requiem, Chapter 588: Gold Experience Requiem, Part 3
  • Stay away from me!!! (おれのそばにちかよるなああ)

Creation and Development

Hirohiko Araki stated that he could have created a villain that was similar to DIO to appeal to popularity, but preferred adding variety rather than rehash previous characters. With that in mind, he designed Diavolo to be a different kind of evil, one just as powerful and captivating as DIO or Yoshikage Kira, but with a distinct identity. Despite being a mafia boss, since one of the themes of Part 5 was to "draw beautiful boys," Araki decided not to design Diavolo as an older, imposing figure like Marlon Brando's character, Vito Corleone, from The Godfather.[18]

He designed King Crimson at the same time as Diavolo.[18] Diavolo's split personality was inspired by the popularity of works exploring multiple personalities at the time, such as the novel The Minds of Billy Milligan,[18] which is based on the story of Billy Milligan, the first person in U.S. history acquitted of a major crime by pleading dissociative identity disorder. Diavolo and King Crimson were also partially inspired by George and Kuato, from the 1990 science fiction film Total Recall, a mutated human with a smaller twin brother conjoined in his belly. Araki thought Diavolo would look "punk" if his hair had a leopard pattern, hence the unique design.[19]

Casting

Kellen Goff, Diavolo's voice actor in the English dub of the anime, additionally auditioned for Vinegar Doppio as well as Diavolo,[20] though he only won Diavolo's role. He theorizes that Diavolo's personality contains a bit of Doppio's personality in it that resurfaces when Diavolo loses his cool, and compares Diavolo to a child who is "playing the boss". This influenced his performance, and every time Diavolo loses his calm, Goff voices him with a higher pitch to evoke the idea that Diavolo's childish side resurfaces.[21]

Trivia

Notes

  1. Diavolo is stated to be born during Summer 1967 and Part 5 takes place in April 2001.

References

Site Navigation

Other languages:

Personality

In order to grow, we must defeat the mistakes of our past. The past... even when you break it to pieces and entomb it in stone, it crawls out like a worm.
—Diavolo

Diavolo is an extremely prideful mob boss, ruthless and brutal in his will to hide his past and maintain his position at the top of his gang Passione. Diavolo shares his body with an alternate personality dubbed Doppio.

The biggest personality trait Diavolo shows is his obsession with erasing any trace of his past and hiding himself from the world, a compulsion he tries to fulfill by any means. As he believes the mistakes of the past or simply the past itself is something to be defeated and destroyed in order for human beings to grow, he is exceptionally anxious about his past, linking it to fear, and being apprehensive of anyone learning of him. Even in the already secretive Passione hierarchy, Diavolo goes to excessive length to hide his identity and his face, issuing orders through several proxies or by computer so that nobody ever meets him personally. Diavolo lives most of his life in the shadows, hinted to perpetually travel across Italy hidden in Doppio, his alternate personality, and sleep in motel and hotel rooms exclusively. This compulsive trait of erasing his past is also an allegory to the inherent flaw in King Crimson, specifically Epitaph's ability; While he can see into the future so as to avoid any mistakes, Diavolo's Stand ability cannot erase any low points or 'ebbs' in his life that have already occurred, forcing him to compensate through his own personal, manual efforts.

The mob boss has a violent tendency to hunt and kill those who try to uncover any kind of personal information, or are merely susceptible to lead his enemies to him, as shown by his will to kill even his own family if it means keeping his identity safe - something highly vocalized through his attempts to murder his daughter, whom has never even met Diavolo herself and only knew things her mother passed down. This is however partially justified since family members within the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure universe share a mystic spiritual link, being able to sense each others. Nevertheless, Diavolo is sufficiently pragmatic not to go on a killing spree every time he's about to be discovered, notably only using his power to confuse a hotel cleaning maid just for as long as he needs to erase any trace of his presence. As soon as he learns of a Passione member trying to investigate him, they will be dubbed as traitors and made examples of his wrath and absolute power. Most notable are Sorbet and Gelato, whom Diavolo had killed and in the case of Sorbet particularly, cut in piece and framed in formalin, then delivered to La Squadra di Esecuzione as a grim warning of the fate awaiting traitors. Diavolo is also persistent in keeping himself a secret even from Doppio, his most trusted subordinate and alter-ego.

Diavolo's second most prominent personality trait is his pride and confidence, firstly in his nigh-invincible Stand King Crimson, then in himself. Operating under a philosophy that King Crimson makes him invincible because it allows him to see the "pitfalls" in the future and avoid them, and allows him to manipulate Fate by choosing to nullify arbitrarily chosen events, he justifiably boasts about King Crimson's power regularly. Diavolo notably claims that anyone's actions before King Crimson are vain, which is true to a degree. Secondly, Diavolo is intimately convinced of his innate superiority over humanity. Using epithets such as "Emperor" or "King of Kings", or like other main antagonists in the series, and using the prefix I or Me (この,  kono?) to announce his name in a sign of superiority over others. The mob boss doesn't doubt that he is fated to remain at the top, or 'apex' as he describes it, forever. This disproportionate pride is not only derived from his idea that people grow from defeating their past (and therefore, he has grown much due to his constant attempts at erasing any type of history of his), it is also backed by the firm belief that he's blessed by Fate; Diavolo's past involved extremely unusual circumstances such as an unnaturally long pregnancy in an all-female prison, making his birth nothing short of a miracle, then him finding six Arrows which would grant him his extraordinarily powerful Stand as well as his massive wealth.

Other than his own philosophy of defeating the past so as to mature, Diavolo also lives by another thematic philosophy that results are the only things that matter in the world. As a decisive and assertive crime boss, Diavolo doesn't hesitate to take shortcuts or directly involve himself with troublesome matters if those actions are the quickest and easiest paths to an end. King Crimson's ability is an echo of this, and maybe the source of it, leaving nothing but the outcomes of situations. He abuses his Stand's power as a means to produce the most favorable conclusions to his problems, and at the same time boldly prove his philosophy's claim to anyone that he confronts. Diavolo shows a degree of prioritization for these results and answers as well, notably when he, upon meeting with Polnareff whom he thought he killed years ago, only questions him as to why he would have an Arrow before attacking once more, rather than how he learned the name of the boss of Passione, or even how he managed to survive being thrown off a cliff into rocky waters.

Diavolo considers himself extremely lucky as well. He readily accepts any difficulty as a "test" he'll have to overcome to prove himself as standing above everyone, and though he can be subject to anxiousness or despair, his pride will prevail and he will constantly choose to confront directly whatever problem he has. This causes him to foolishly face Gold Experience Requiem head-on, although he did foresee Giorno's death and had no idea of his new powers. Against Requiem Diavolo's confidence crumbled when it countered his time erasure and prediction abilities and left him powerless. When he found himself trapped in an endless death loop, unable to do anything about his situation, Diavolo panicked and his last appearance in the story has him frightened being approached by a little girl; His pride, confidence, and to varying degrees, sanity being completely crushed by his everlasting fatalities.

Diavolo has also demonstrated an inability to understand other people's emotions and morals, especially those righteous, as well as an inability to properly interact with anyone, due in no small part to his overwhelming pride and secretiveness. When Bucciarati revolts, Diavolo openly theorizes that Bucciarati merely wanted to overthrow him or was opportunistic in his presence, without considering that hurting his own daughter deeply angered Bruno. Also forgetting that La Squadra di Esecuzione would have a grudge against Diavolo after killing Sorbet and Gelato, he sent them to investigate Donatella's house, allowing them to uncover the existence of Trish. When interacting with others, Diavolo tends to act rather respectfully for his opponents and subordinates if they are obedient and competent. He compliments both Risotto and Bucciarati for their resourcefulness during their battles, and offers Risotto an honorable death. On a smaller scale, he compliments a fortune teller privy to his past as being "the best of the best" and gave a painless yet brutal death. However, Diavolo is also domineering and aggressive, taking his thoughts for absolute truths and ordering his interlocutor around; When he is angry, Diavolo is prone to shout insults and issue death threats.

Diavolo only commands the respect of his subordinates through greed or fear, causing Passione to be corrupted within itself, members turning against each other, and multiple people to plot against him. Diavolo is also unforgiving of those he considers enemies, most especially traitors. Should anyone try to approach his alter ego Doppio and pry too much on his past, Diavolo violently rebukes them. For instance, Diavolo nearly gouged the eye out of the taxi driver that robbed Doppio and harassed him and outright and violently murdered a fortune teller that accurately divined his history.

Diavolo approaches fights coldly, only considering confrontations as chores to be completed to maintain his supremacy. Diavolo favors finishing off his victims quickly using his King Crimson to confuse them and kill them in a single move. As seen with Bruno, Diavolo is slightly amused (at least his Stand is) by the futile efforts of his opponents, and boasts regularly about his invincibility. A pragmatic man, Diavolo still approaches the situation carefully, especially when Doppio is in command, and cannot use his full power. In an unadvantageous situation, Diavolo is patient, carefully undermining the enemy before using one critical attack, making him a most dangerous enemy during any battle.

During his youth, the teenager named Diavolo was described as dim and timid, but well-meaning. He also expressed his wish to become a sailor and had a girlfriend Donatella, they were sufficiently close enough to have a child together. Due to the lack of further information and Diavolo's alternate personality disorder, it is unknown if this was a facade, or if he was genuinely like this before. Either way his secretiveness and ruthlessness were already present, having hidden his mother underground and having burnt his home village to the ground simply to hide his past.

For unknown reasons, Diavolo kept his mother alive, albeit trapped underground, and his old girlfriend Donatella alive, despite his willingness to kill his daughter.

Relationships

You are the very definition of nauseating evil! You abuse the innocent and unknowing! All for your own personal benefit!
Bucciarati to Diavolo
  • With Alter Ego:
    • Diavolo to Doppio: Although in most cases it's self-preservation and survival (assuming killing Doppio would kill Diavolo, or vice versa), Diavolo seems to have a lot of affection for Doppio: he put Doppio in a very dangerous position of being the underboss instead of a usual subordinate, he often gave Doppio directions to being successful and even warned him to keep away from Nero and encouraged him to flee, and most peculiar of all, he has a habit of sometimes calling Doppio "[his] (cute) Doppio" with the more down-to-earth "watashi wa" pronoun.  Noticeably, when Chariot Requiem activates and Doppio is shot multiple times by Mista, Diavolo almost immediately destroys and impales Narancia on a gate, instantly killing him, and begins to attempt more murders - before it happened, Diavolo was perfectly hidden away and everyone assumed Diavolo was in Bucciarati's body. On the other hand, Diavolo doesn't spend a single thought for Doppio whom he left for dead in Bucciarati's body.
    • Doppio to Diavolo: While Doppio never learned the truth between themselves, he highly respects Diavolo and always called him "Boss" - though, whether or not Doppio knew Diavolo's name is unknown. Doppio also seems to be Diavolo's gopher, something he takes pride in considering how loyal he was to a point of stubbornness, and he seemed heed most of Diavolo's orders when he remembered them. According to Doppio himself before his death, Diavolo had told him that staying in Bucciarati's body would be dangerous and decided to move, leaving Doppio to his fate.
  • Donatella Una: Although it's unknown how their relationship went, outside of Diavolo refusing to give her a name and never talking about himself, it can be inferred that it was largely positive. He took a picture of Donatella and she kept it throughout the years (Although Diavolo becomes enraged upon learning that it still exists). Interestingly enough, Diavolo also never attempted on Donatella's life despite his ruthlessness. Likewise, Donatella loved Diavolo and told her daughter good things about him (albeit all lies Diavolo said before hand), and it's known that as Donatella died from her illness, she wished to see her lover again.
  • Trish Una: It's inferred that Diavolo was never actually aware of Trish's existance until Donatella passed away and La Squadra begun looking for clues on their former employer's identity. Diavolo realizes that their bond of blood allows him to sense her presence (the bonds of family being a reoccurring supernatural force in the world of JoJo). Immediately realizing that she could sense him as well, he put up a plan to kill her and used Bucciarati's group as pawns to do so. In the final battle, Diavolo disowns Trish, wishing she never had been born. When she stops him from getting the Arrow during the final battle, he sends her soul ascending by having King Crimson punch clean through her stomach. However, she would survive due to Bucciarati's interception.

Enemies

Bucciarati's Gang

  • Giorno Giovanna: Giorno planned to take down Diavolo since the beginning due to his agenda of distributing drugs, which were reaching children. Because of this, Diavolo retaliated and made Giorno his enemy. The two became bitter enemies at the end of Part 5, with Diavolo having invoked Giorno's anger during their confrontation, especially after the death of Narancia. With Bucciarati's demise, Diavolo realizes Giorno was in fact the more dangerous individual due to his cunning, as well as the fact that he had planned to usurp him the moment to boy entered Passione.
  • Bruno Bucciarati: Prior to meeting Giorno, Bucciarati was loyal to Diavolo, even though he was aware of how evil the boss could be. With urging from Giorno, Bucciarati became determined to take the boss down as well, eventually dying to Diavolo because of it. Diavolo respects Bucciarati to a degree, complimenting him on his prowess and valor.
  • Narancia Ghirga: Although not directly interacting with Narancia, he was a threat nonetheless. After Chariot Requiem was activated and Doppio was shot by Mista, Diavolo retaliates by killing Narancia, whom had a radar capable of finding anyone attempting to attack Chariot Requiem.
  • Leone Abbacchio: Diavolo feared Abbacchio as he could easily find out whom Passione's Boss was due to his powers. As such, Diavolo personally went back to Sardinia to intercept Abbacchio, and when given the opportunity, assassinated him while posing not only as Doppio, but also as a simple child playing soccer.
  • Guido Mista: While Diavolo lacks a connection with Mista, Mista on the other hand shares his teammates hatred and fear of the boss. Diavolo likewise regarded him as a threat just for betrayal. In the end, after the final battle with Diavolo, Mista was the last original member of Bucciarati's team before Giorno intact.
  • Pannacotta Fugo: Fugo, even with all the evidence given to him, was torn between swearing loyalty to Bucciarati or staying on Diavolo's good side, and chose to remain on Diavolo's side. In a rejected story line, Fugo was also sent to kill his former friends, and if that was kept, Araki admits that Giorno would have needed to give the killing blow, which he felt would be too heartbreaking.[1]
  • Jean Pierre Polnareff: Polnareff is one of Diavolo's many enemies, though Diavolo doesn't have any interest in Polnareff particularly. As soon as Diavolo found out Polnareff had been investigating him, he brutally tried to kill him, but unknowingly left him alive. During their second confrontation, Diavolo did not care much that Polnareff was still alive, nor that he knew his name, but rather wanted to know immediately why Polnareff would possess an Arrow, displaying a sense of urgency on the matter of his familiar foe. Nonetheless, Diavolo would, without much effort, successfully put an end to Polnareff once more, stepping on his neck in order to check his pulse and confirm his death. However, Diavolo did not know that Chariot Requiem would save its former master by preserving his soul in the body of Coco Jumbo.

Other

  • La Squadra di Esecuzione: Diavolo not only refused to give La Squadra a territory and higher pay, but when the first signs of betrayal started showing, also killed two of their members, one of whom was sectioned into 36 individual pieces, which were then mailed individually back to the group. It should be noted that it took La Squadra two years to form a retaliation plan, which Diavolo immediately found out about and retaliated against. Diavolo disdained these assassins, but came to respect their leader, Risotto Nero to a degree, considering him a worthy opponent and granting him the dubious "honor" of a painless death if he obeyed his command of restoring his iron level during their fight.
  • Cioccolata and Secco: As immoral Diavolo was, he considered both of them complete monsters and only kept them in his organization as part of his personal guard squad due to their powerful combination and individual abilities alike. On their part, Cioccolata and Secco only obeyed Diavolo because he let them torture people and planned to overthrow him eventually.

References

Site Navigation